Tick. Tick. Tick.
I felt cold liquid dripping onto my cheek. Slowly, I opened my eyes, accompanied by a low groan that slipped out of my mouth.
When my eyes adjusted, what welcomed me was shocking. A stream of green liquid kept flowing to the left.
A pungent stench pierced my nose, disgusting, like the rotten garbage smell back at home.
Only then did I realize where I was. I sat up and looked around. This wasn't a hospital. This was… a sewer. Wait, what?! How the fuck?
Ding!
That sharp sound rang in my ears. I turned toward the status window that suddenly appeared. White text lined up into sentences.
[Alas, you are awake, Host.]
I grabbed my head. What the hell is this? I need an explanation right now, damn it! Why am I stuck here? I should've been lying on a soft bed, breathing in clean air, not sitting inside a stinking sewer. Why the hell am I here, DAMN IT?!
[Please calm yourself first, Host.]
How am I supposed to calm down when I've been thrown into a place like this?!
[You are currently inside Tutorial Test Site #0002.]
Tutorial Test #0002? Is that my location code? Then what am I supposed to do here? Kill monsters to prove myself worthy?
[You fell asleep earlier, Host. You were supposed to be teleported to the higher place where the new Gambits gathered, but instead, you slept through it. The other new Gambits didn't bother waking you up. They thought you were an idiot for missing the most important event of all.]
A bitter laugh escaped me. How the hell was I supposed to know something like that would happen? And why didn't this damn System wake me up?!
My breath grew ragged as the stench burned my nose. I forced myself to ask,
"What happened at that Gambit gathering?" My voice was low.
[God's messenger descended to explain everything about the Tutorial sites and the Gambit System. Each participant also received one skill. After that, they were granted special quests, quests unique to each individual.]
I rubbed my chin, nodding. Wait… does that mean I got a skill too?
[No, Host. You were fast asleep and failed to touch the crystal orb handed out by the messenger. Therefore, you were not granted a skill.]
Damn it! Seriously?! This is complete bullshit! Didn't anyone there see me? They could've at least shaken me awake. What is wrong with people? Is everyone in this world apathetic and self-centered?!
Wait… does that mean I didn't get a quest either?
[Rest assured, Host. You did receive a quest.]
I sighed in relief. Good. Then what's my quest, System?
[Before that, I must inform you. In this Tutorial test, everyone is divided into two sides.]
Two sides? What sides?
[Two factions: Black Gambit and White Gambit.]
I smirked. Really? So this world is based on chess? Are we just pieces being moved around by some higher beings?
[You are a White Gambit, Host.]
I nodded as a white bracelet appeared on my right wrist, glowing faintly. A sign that I belonged to the White Gambit side… if I should even call it a side.
I held the bracelet gently, wondering what quest I had been given. Just as I thought about it, another sharp Ding! echoed.
[Quest: Betray 3 White Gambits!]
[Reward: Oathbreaker's Gambit Class, 30 EXP, and 1000 Gambit Points]
[Penalty if failed: People you meet will always suspect you and feel uneasy around you.]
What…?
A bitter laugh escaped me again. What the fuck is this? Betray three people who are supposed to be my allies? No, no, no, no. I can't… This is insane. Who the hell wrote this quest? And what kind of class is that? I don't remember seeing it back in the hospital.
Could it be that I haven't unlocked classes because I never touched the messenger's crystal orb?
[You already have a Class option, Host.]
Oh yeah?
[Status]
[Name: Ezra Scarlet | The Grandmaster's Hand]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Level: 2 → Requires 10 Exp to level up]
[HP: 50/50]
[MP: 50/50]
[Gambit: Pawn → Requires 290 Exp to become Knight]
[Talent: The Grandmaster's Hand (Detail) | None]
[Unique Traits: En Passant (Detail) | None | None]
[Skills: None | 5 slots (upgradeable)]
[Flaw: ZugZwang (Detail) | None]
> Strength: 4
Agility: 2
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 2
Charm: 4
> Gambit Points: 0 → 100
Ah… so my race really is Human. I had hoped for some kind of mixed bloodline…
But that was impossible.
"Haha…" A hollow laugh slipped from my lips.
I wish I had a different father in this world…
Water dripped from the sewer ceiling, soaking my hair and cheeks. I stood up.
Ah! Right, the quest… Betray three people? How the hell was I supposed to do that? My flaw didn't even allow me to strike first. That meant I couldn't just stab someone from behind like in those novels I used to read.
I scratched my hair in frustration. Why did I have to end up here? Shouldn't Tutorial tests be in an arena, or a forest, or something?
Looking around, I saw the sewer stretched ahead into darkness. Only one way forward… or back.
So what should I do? Walk back or move forward? Damn it, God said this world was dangerous. There might be monsters lurking just beyond the shadows.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to focus. Enough pointless complaints. I had to find a way out of this disgusting place.
Without looking back, I stepped forward.
The sewer was massive. If my guess was right, there would definitely be monsters here. No way the System would create a sewer this big without putting something inside, right?
Based on that assumption, I grew more cautious. After walking for a while, I reached a fork, left or right.
I raised my brow, covering my nose with my hand. The smell was unbearable.
Should I go right or left?
I chose right. I believed the right path was always the good one, or so people said.
I took two steps when suddenly I heard footsteps.
Thud.
I froze. Someone was there! Who? Were they a White Gambit or a Black Gambit?!
I immediately turned around and switched to the left path instead.
No way. I couldn't risk checking them out. What if it was a Black Gambit? Better to change course.
I walked slowly, keeping my steps quiet, trying not to be noticed by whoever was on the right path.
My heartbeat quickened, my footsteps growing less steady. I kept walking.
Thud. Thud.
Those weren't my footsteps. They were someone else's, behind me.
I didn't dare look back. Sweat drenched my face and body as I kept moving. Then, I finally saw something in the distance.
My pace quickened. I rushed toward it.
But as I got closer, my heart almost burst from my chest. My pupils shrank and trembled. Not just my eyes, my whole body shook at the sight before me.
A pile of corpses. Dozens of human bodies stacked on top of one another.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The footsteps behind me grew louder.